Medical Center Barcoding

In both the lab and medical center, barcoding helps streamline processes and improve efficiency. Barcoding helps decrease human errors with faster, more accurate test results.

End Labeling Interpretation
Messy handwritten labels are prone to frequent interpretation mistakes. In a moment of crisis, workers don’t have the time to go off hunting for their coworkers to answer questions about patient notes.  In medical centers that use barcoding, labels are clearly printed, read and scanned, preventing accidents related to misinterpretation of handwritten notes.

Speeding up the Process
Medical centers that do not use barcodes, personnel manually key in patient identifiers by hand. Although this takes only a few minutes per patient, those minutes rapidly add up to many hours at the end of a long day and hundreds of patients. Medical center barcoding not only speeds up the process of entering patient data, but also eliminates the possibility of information being incorrectly keyed in due to human error.

Improving the Patient Experience
Fewer errors make happier patients. Patients who are more satisfied with their care will continue choosing services from the same facility. Improving the patient experience through lab and medical center barcoding both increases patient satisfaction and revenue while decreasing overhead.

If you want to learn more about the use of barcode labels in Healthcare, download our free eBook, Healthcare and Barcodes. 

Bar Code Label Printers and Cost of Ownership

Why do you buy a bar code label printer? As an organization, it’s to become more productive and more profitable. So it makes sense to examine the lifetime cost of ownership for such a purchase – cost that is ultimately measured in terms of money, but also in time and effort. The largest part of the total cost of ownership often comes after the initial acquisition, and not just in terms of consumables like thermal labels and printer ribbons.

Clearly, not only should a bar code label printer work properly from the beginning, but it should also continue working properly throughout its lifetime with minimal intervention. Remember that while a robust printer can still work perfectly well mechanically, other parts of your IT systems may change as your enterprise keeps pace with the rest of its industry sector. For your bar code labels to still be printed out with the same reliability and the same convenience, your printer software needs to remain compatible with new PCs and servers as well.

Some printers use an industry standard printer language, PCL.  PCL printers work across all OS platforms:  Windows, Mac OSX, UNIX, Linux, OS400.  There is no need to integrate proprietary printer languages, especially important with legacy data and systems, thus reducing integration costs.  The PCL printer also eliminates the need for middleware or custom coding, which reduces development costs and software purchase and maintenance costs.

When quality and longevity are built in, ongoing efforts and therefore costs can be reduced significantly, because of the hours saved by not having to fix problems or rewrite computer applications to use an existing bar code label printer. You’ll still have to budget for items like printer consumables, but at least these are expenses that you can forecast. In addition, what your company saves is time, a resource that in many cases is even more precious than money.

For more information about the total cost of ownership of a PCL printer, download our management slides, Why Choose A PCL Barcode Label Printer Over A Proprietary Barcode Label Printer? When it's time to justify your barcode label printer investment, you can use these slides with your decision-makers. 

Barcode Labels in Healthcare

Using barcode labels in healthcare applications improves facility efficiency by increasing patient safety and reducing the likelihood of medication errors. Barcode labels are not just for hands-on patient care, either; they may also be used in other healthcare applications.

Using Barcode Labels in Healthcare to Help Patients
Moving to a barcode tracking system immediately streamlines the administrative side of patient care.
• Patients will be issued a barcode wristband upon admission
• This barcode both provides identification for the patient and connects them to their electronic medical information
• When medication needs to be administered, a quick scan of both the wristband barcode and barcode label on the medication will immediately verify prescription and treatment information

In short, incorporating barcode labels in healthcare routines helps ensure the five rights of patient medication safety: providing the right dosage of the right medication at the right time to the right patient via the right route.

Meeting Regulations
In 2004, the FDA announced that certain usages of barcode labels in healthcare applications would be mandatory, specifically on blood containers and prescription drugs. Container barcodes can be scanned quickly to verify information at every step of the process, whether tracking down donor information for blood and specimens, or tracking down suppliers for pharmaceutical components. Barcode labeling reduces errors related to blood and blood components, as well as offering effective tracking for pharmaceuticals.

Reducing Costs
Finally, through the use of barcode labels, many costly medical mistakes may be reduced or eliminated. This will not only save money through the reduction of conducting lab tests twice or correcting costly errors, but also through reduced malpractice insurance costs and fewer lawsuits. Combining increased patient safety measures with more transparent and efficient blood component and pharmaceutical tracking and storage will save money in the long run. Plus, barcode labels in healthcare settings will help to improve the overall patient experience.

To learn more about the uses of barcodes in healthcare, download our new eBook, Healthcare and Barcodes.

Hospital inventory management

While the clinical applications for thermal printers are very important, don't underestimate the value that this technology offers to non-clinical hospital functions, such as inventory management and asset tracking. Hospital inventory management is a huge challenge today.  "Modern hospitals utilize a mind-boggling array of equipment and supplies from the most modern and high-tech devices like specialized stents and catheters for heart surgery, to everyday items, such as gauze bandages and protective pads. Hospitals utilize mountains of various food products to feed their patients and staff and even keep an inventory of teddy bears, balloons, and greeting cards for the gift shop," says HIMSS. 

Improving your ability to manage and track the thousands of items used in your hospital adds to its bottom-line efficiency and enhances the overall quality of care for your patients. Obviously, you should barcode expensive medical and computer equipment so your hospital can keep close track of these valuable assets. Include, too, consumable medical supplies, from histology slides to IV bags to linens, in your barcode labeling program. And consider that nearly every logistical process in the hospital can be improved with barcode labeling:

• the stock room employee who selects bar-coded items requested by a particular department
• the shipping or receiving department that generates a carton or package label
• the floor nurse who conducts a supplies inventory for re-ordering

Hospital inventory management is improved greatly with barcode labeling. 

To learn more about hospital inventory management, get our free ebook, Hospital Barcoding. 

Hospital barcoding improves patient safety

Hospital barcoding helps improve patient safety.  Wristbands with barcode data printed at patient registration help to clearly identify the patient, any medication allergies, chronic health conditions and other patient-critical information. Thermal printers are ideally suited for printing many small images and bar codes with a sharp, long-lasting, highly reliable, scanable image. Patients' wristbands stay with them throughout their hospital visit and so the printed images must withstand exposure to a variety of substances, such as moisture, sanitizers, chemicals and solvents. Likewise, barcode labels used in hospital environments must have the same properties.  That's why, says the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), you should "print on fluid-resistant labels using thermal printers." 

To learn more about hospital barcoding, get our free ebook, Hospital Barcoding.

Why thermal barcode label printers are superior

So you’re going to start using barcodes in your business, and you’re trying to decide whether or not your current inkjet or laser printer will do the job. It may be tempting to try to make the machine you have work as a barcode label printer. However, before making any decisions, it’s important to consider the benefits of using a dedicated thermal system.
 

There are two types of thermal barcode label printers: direct thermal and thermal transfer.

DIRECT THERMAL

Direct thermal printing works by heating a specially-coated paper, causing a chemical reaction that forms the desired image.
 
Direct thermal barcode labels are slightly less expensive to produce than their thermal transfer counterparts, but may not possess the same durability and resistance to heat and other environmental factors.

THERMAL TRANSFER

Thermal transfer printing consists of a specialized inked film ribbon, which when heated transfers the desired image onto the print medium.
 
Thermal transfer labels are extremely durable and long-lasting, and are reliable in the most challenging environments. They can stand up against the most extreme temperatures, ultraviolet radiation, and chemical and solvent exposure. In addition, they are also capable of producing the most highly detailed images.

When it comes to printing barcodes, thermal barcode label printers prove vastly superior to traditional inkjet-based systems. Because inkjet (as well as laser) printers are required to perform a variety of functions, they must necessarily sacrifice certain qualities for the sake of utility. It may seem like a financially sound idea to try and rely on an existing inkjet-based printer to provide barcode labels for your business. However, by cutting corners in this fashion, you very well could end up losing money in the long run through high maintenance costs, slower production, and inferior, sometimes illegible barcode labels.

Thermal printers are highly reliable and optimally designed for label-printing, which means they are ideal for printing one or thousands of labels at a time.  Thermal images have high density with sharp edge definition and the right combination of ribbon and media results in a very durable, scratch- and solvent-resistant image without over-laminating.  Adhesive bleed is not an issue for thermal printers, as their operating temperatures are much lower than laser fuser stations.  Consequently, thermal printers are the printer of choice for barcode label printing.

Barcode Label Printers for Ski Resorts

Barcode Label Printers for Ski Resorts

Barcode label printers are an ideal solution for many of the customer service functions at the ski resort, as well as for more traditional applications in inventory and equipment management. Here are four ways barcode labels enhance ski resort business performance:

1.  Track, manage and maintain equipment rentals – Ski resorts rent out many items daily - skis, boots, poles, goggles, snowboards - so customers enjoy their on-slope experience. Barcode labeling enables faster rental processes and more accurate equipment monitoring and tracking. This in turn leads to a more efficient and customer-friendly operation. Equipment safety is enhanced and resort liability is reduced with barcode labels, as resorts easily keep up-to-date records on equipment maintenance and repairs. 

Since some resorts operate multiple rental locations within a single resort location, barcodes allow for better inventory management out of these multiple rental locations.

Barcode labeling allows management to track peak rental times so promotions geared to off-peak hours can be developed; knowing when peak rentals occur enhances inventory management as well.

                    
2.  Season passes and daily lift tickets –Season passes generate significant revenue and so it’s critical to have a reliable season pass product solution. Barcode printers rapidly generate durable labels able to withstand a season of skiing or snowboarding in wet and cold environments. And, barcodes easily embed security features to eliminate fraud and duplication. Daily lift tickets, likewise, are generated rapidly and accurately with a barcode label solution so resorts avoid long ticket lines, guaranteed to cause frustration for customers eager to hit the slopes.

3.  Retail merchandising/food and beverage – Gift shops and food/ beverage operations within a ski resort are other important revenue sources. Inventory control and management is maximized for these areas with a barcode label solution that tracks items sold and manages on-hand inventory and re-ordering tasks.

4.  Children’s activities – Many ski resorts target families, offering classes teaching kids the basics of downhill or cross-country skiing, and snowboarding. A barcode label is ideal to ensure child safety. Children and parents can be provided with a unique barcode identifier on tags, wristbands or labels. When a parent comes to pick up the child, staff matches the parent and child barcode identifiers so children are released to the appropriate adult.

Printing Barcodes on Jewelry Tags

Why Barcodes for Jewelry

Designers and retailers in the jewelry business know how critical it is to keep an accurate track of the often small but sometimes very expensive jewelry pieces they create or sell. One of the best and most reliable business tools for jewelry designers and retailers are the jewelry barcode labels. Barcodes are highly effective and successfully used in a wide range of industries, from the mom-and-pop convenience store to the multi-national manufacturing firm. In combination with a thermal label printer, barcode labels help improve a whole range of business processes.

 There are four key areas where barcode labels can enhance business effectiveness for the jeweler.  Here are two of the key areas.  

1.      Barcode label solutions reduce material loss.

Losses due to misplaced inventory or even employee theft are a concern when dealing with small jewelry items and their components. For example, precious stones that are not yet set are prime targets for theft and also can be easily misplaced. With a barcode label each item has its own unique barcode identifier, so it is easily tracked and stored. Lower losses add up to better business performance.

2.      Barcode label printing improves inventory management.

Good inventory management controls operating/stocking costs while meeting customer demands. Barcodes offer real time information on what items to reorder and  help to better balance customer demand and inventory costs. Jewelry retailers can analyze which designers are selling fastest and make sure those designer’s products are always available.

To learn more about how barcodes can help you grow your business, download our free eBook, Jewelry Barcode Label Printing.  

Tracking Biomedical Devices with Barcodes

Biomedical IT directors are embracing the many applications within their organization that are amenable to barcode label printing solutions. That’s because biomedical devices and barcode label printing are an ideal combination for managing a range of applications and initiatives: device production, inventory, shipment, documentation, federal regulation compliance and patient safety goals. Any biomedical device that can be tagged or labeled can be barcoded.  

If you want to learn more about the different uses of barcodes in the biomedical industry and how to select the best barcode label printing solution for your business, download our free eBook, Tracking Biomedical Devices with Barcodes.  

How to lower total cost of ownership of barcode label printers

To lower your total cost of ownership of a barcode label printer you need to use a barcode label printer that has HP PCL.  

Most  bar code label printers have a proprietary Printer Command Language.  They often require the effort and expense of

(A) writing a custom printer driver or

(B) of writing custom programming code to integrate the printer with the system data or

(C) the purchase of an expensive middleware software application to integrate the printer with the necessary system data or

(D) a combination of the above. 

Once these proprietary bar code label printer installations are implemented, they demand down-stream maintenance and support for the life of the solution.  When an operating system is upgraded or when a new hardware platform is imlemented, custom and proprietary solutions typically require recertification, adding to total life cycle costs.  And if the proprietary solution is not upgradeable to the new system, a new solution must be implemented, which negates the original investment and adds incremental cost.